Spinnach going thin and whispy.

[Marb67]

Why oh why does this happen time and rime again to my seedlings. Clean pot, new compost, normal moisture so it can’t be damping off. The healthy shoots after a couple of weeks keel over going thin and whispy ?

[Greenleaves]

I am assuming you have just watered Marb? Looks very wet. Going by the stems it looks like damping off.

My grandad always taught me with seeds and seedlings that if you place blotting paper on the compost and it drew moisture it was too wet. With seeds I plant in damp compost and spray the surface when it feels dry. Seedlings are always bottom watered as I want the roots to search for it by growing down.

Just my way Marb

[bario1]

Looks like damping off to me.

[Marb67]

Watered from underneath so how can it be damping off ?

[Greenleaves]

Damping off is a desease and wet conditions help it regardless of how it's watered. Looking at the picture the soil looks saturated

[Marb67]

Ok, will plant more seed in the same pot and let it dry out. Just seems whatever I grow goes wrong.

[Greenleaves]

Stop Marb....the desease can live in the compost and pot....clean the pot and new compost or you will be doing the same again.

[veggiechicken]

Use fresh compost and, when you water from below, put the pot in a tray of water for about 15 minutes, then lift it out and let it drain. Don't leave it sitting in a tray of water.

[Marb67]

I don’t understand how a disease can start from just water ? Very odd.

[Greenleaves]

Several fungi can cause decay of seeds and seedlings including species of rhizoctonia, fusarium and phytophthora. However, species of the soil fungus pythium are most often the culprit. Damping off typically occurs when old seed is planted in cold, wet soil and is further increased by poor soil drainage.

[bario1]

Watering from underneath is just better practise, it doesn't mean it's failsafe. A pot of compost left in water will act like a sponge and eventually it'll become saturated, even at the surface. I dunk pots in a couple of inches of water for maybe a minute, even less for small pots - just enough to make the pot feel bottom heavy, no more.

[veggiechicken]

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=151

[Marb67]

I am wondering if I bury the wilted stems lower down in the soil they will pick up as brassicas like to go deep ?

[bario1]

I think you'll be wasting your time, Marb - the tissue between the leaves and the roots is dying.

New pot, new compost, new seeds. Sorry!

[Marb67]

Ok. Looks like another one for the Marb grave then.